River deities in Ghana

deity is a supernatural being, like a god or goddess, that is worshipped by people who believe it controls or exerts force over some aspect of the world. The word deity means "divine nature." It was coined by Saint Augustine, a theologian whose writings were very influential in the shaping of Western Christianity. Antoa Nyamaa is a popular river god deity with its shrine located at Antoa in the Ashanti Region in Ghana. River Tano The river god of Ghana and the lower Ivory Coast is Tano or Ta Kora. Kora means “the immense”; Ta may be derived from a word meaning “father.” Tano is a nature god, but he has heroic attributes. He was possibly once a thunder god as well. He was also invoked as a war god in time of military need. River Densu The Densu river is believed to be a god which is worshiped by many. At times, in serious issues, people rely on this river for curses and other rituals. In certain instances, sacrifice is delivered to the river for a purpose, such for peace, rainfall, etc. River Birem River Birim was really revered especially on tuesdays as it is claimed that the god of that river is a tuesday born and also a female. It was truly a mother because hardly will you hear that someone has been drowned in the river. It spread it's motherly love around her natives. River Pra PRA RIVER The Pra River is a river in Ghana, the easternmost and the largest of the three principal rivers that drain the area south of the Volta divide. Rising in the Kwahu Plateau near Mpraeso and flowing southward for 240 km through rich cocoa and farming areas and valuable forests in the Akan lowlands, the Pra enters the Gulf of Guinea east of Takoradi. In the 19th century, the Pra served as the border between the Ashanti Kingdom and the Gold Coast. In the early part of the 20th century the Pra was used extensively to float timber to the coast for export. The northern part of the Pra is still worked for artisan gold with metallic mercury, which has caused some contamination. The Birim river valley is a major source of diamonds. In Akan religion the deities (abosom) are seen as "children" the Supreme God, are considered to inhabit mountains, rocks, caves, and rivers. It’s believed that sacred deity (bosom) lives in the Pra River. While rivers appear red because of the iron oxide in the soil, they are still considered the white part of the universe, as seen in waterfalls and springs. Pra River is also a place where was killed the first Asantehene, Osei Tutu I. Therefore, all leaders of Asante swore to never cross River Pra into Akyem territory. Moreover, Osei Tutu I was shot on the River while he rode in his own boat, he was actually beheaded there. The history has it that he was led into an Akyem ambush. Osei Tutu’s linguists never wrote down a single thing hence the details of that bloody encounter remain forever lost. On that day only a couple of Asante royal guards were spared to return to Kumasi with the news. Osei Tutu was so horrified by the cunning of those who betrayed him to the Akyem that before he was beheaded, he cried: “Ankah me nim a…” (Had I known is always at last). Osei Tutu having regretted not heeding the call of his Chief Priest, Okomfo Anokye, to remain in Kumasi or to fully arm himself at all times with the full force of Asante’s Army while deployed in unfamiliar territory.